Car-free village beneath the Matterhorn
Zermatt sits at the head of a long valley in the canton of Valais, and above it rises the Matterhorn, the most recognisable mountain in the Alps. The village is car-free, reached by train, with wooden chalets and old barns on stilts in the historic quarter. The Gornergrat railway climbs to a viewpoint surrounded by glaciers and more than two dozen 4,000-metre peaks, and the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise cable car offers skiing even in summer. Hiking trails like the Five Lakes Walk reveal the Matterhorn reflected in still water.